Learn Lesson 6 of 6 · 6 min read
Building a Clean NinjaTrader Chart
Chart styles, trading hours, how much history to load, and a simple multi-timeframe layout that keeps price in view.
Start with what price is drawn as
The chart style is just how each bar is drawn. It doesn't change the data, but it changes what jumps out at you.
| Style | Shows | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Candlestick | Open, high, low, close; filled body for down, empty or colored for up | Reading each bar's fight: wicks, engulfing bars, inside bars |
| OHLC bars | The same four prices with small ticks instead of a body | A lighter look with many bars on screen |
| Line on close | Only the closes, joined | Higher-timeframe context and trend at a glance |
| Hollow candles | Candles with fill set by the close vs. the open and color by the close vs. the previous close | Spotting bars that closed up but below the prior close, and the reverse |
Most futures traders settle on candlesticks for entries and a line or a slower candle chart for context. Pick colors you can read at a glance after hours of screen time; soft colors are easier on the eyes than pure red and green.
Trading hours change your indicators
Index futures trade almost 24 hours, but the busiest part is the regular US session. In NinjaTrader each data series has a Trading hours template, for example CME US Index Futures ETH (all hours) or RTH (regular hours only).
- With all hours, a 20 EMA at 9:35 ET is built partly from quiet overnight bars.
- With regular hours only, the overnight session disappears and the open can gap from the prior close.
- Session-based tools (VWAP, prior day levels, opening range) depend on where the session starts. Make sure your indicator and your chart agree.
Load enough history
Indicators need data before they mean anything. A 200-period average on a 1-minute chart needs 200 minutes to form; prior day levels need yesterday; weekly levels need last week. In the chart's Data Series window, set Days to load to at least 5 for intraday work, more if you use slow averages. More days means slower charts, so load what you use.
A simple multi-timeframe layout
Give each timeframe one job and don't let them all vote on every trade:
- Context chart (15 or 30 minute, or a line chart): trend direction, key levels. You glance at it, you don't trade from it.
- Setup chart (5 minute or a range chart): where your pattern forms.
- Entry chart (1 minute or a small range): only for timing the order, if you need it at all.
Link them with NinjaTrader's instrument-link color buttons so changing the instrument on one changes all three.
The indicator budget
Before adding a study, finish this sentence: "This tells me ____, which price alone doesn't." If two tools finish it the same way (RSI and Stochastics both say "momentum"), keep one. A practical budget:
- One trend tool (a moving average or two).
- One volatility tool (ATR) for sizing stops and targets.
- Your levels, kept to the few you actually trade.
- Information panels (net change, session stats) placed in a corner, not over price.
Save it once
When the chart looks right, right-click > Templates > Save As. Every new chart can then start from the same clean setup, and a Workspace saves the arrangement of all your windows.
Try it in NinjaTrader
- Open a new chart and remove every indicator.
- Trade a full session in Playback with price only, marking the levels by hand.
- Add back one tool at a time, and keep only the ones that changed a decision you made.
Educational content only, not trading advice. Indicators describe what price has already done; none of them predicts what it will do next. Practice in Sim or Playback before trading live.